Native Earth Performing Arts is a Canadian theatre company located in Toronto. Founded in 1982, it is the oldest professional Aboriginal performing arts company in Canada. They have been central in the development of a community of Native theatre artists, and have contributed to the creation of several plays which have become canonical in Canadian drama, such as Tomson Highway's award-winning The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, Daniel David Moses's Almighty Voice and His Wife and Drew Hayden Taylor's Someday. Native Earth hosts the annual Weesageechak Festival which is a showcase for emerging Native theatre artists.
In 1986 Native Earth was able to secure government funding, which brought stability to the organization. This funding allowed Native Earth the possibility to program a season and open its own office with full-time staff.
In the same year Native Earth presented its first scripted work, Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters which became a hit and attracted large audiences across Canada. The Play was so successful that it was also invited to the Edinburgh Festival and received the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award.
In 1989 Native Earth created "Weesageechak Begins to Dance" an annual play festival which developed plays that often turned into full production the following year. One of the plays which was developed through this process was John McLeod's Diary of a Crazy Boy.
In 2011 Tara Beagan took over the Artistic Director position from Yvette Nolan who was in that post since 2002.
In 2012, the organization was described as "a formidable artistic hub for all things related to contemporary Indigenous performing arts."
Read more about Native Earth Performing Arts: Artistic Directors, Past Productions
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